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ECB 40
England Wales Scotland Netherlands | administrator = ECB | cricket format = 40 overs | first = 2010 | last = 2013 | tournament format = Group stage and knockout | participants = 21 | champions = Nottinghamshire Outlaws | most successful = | current = 2013 Yorkshire Bank 40 }} The ECB40, currently known as the Yorkshire Bank 40 (YB40) for sponsorship reasons, is a forty-over limited overs cricket competition for the English first-class counties. It began in the 2010 English cricket season as a replacement for the Pro40 and Friends Provident Trophy competitions. Yorkshire Bank are the current sponsors, taking over the naming rights from their parent company Clydesdale Bank from the 2013 edition. Warwickshire won the inaugural tournament. The competition will be replaced by a fifty-over tournament from 2014. History In 2009, in light of the growth of Twenty20 cricket with the Twenty20 Cup, Indian Premier League and ICC World Twenty20, the ECB realised that the Pro40 and Friends Provident Trophy were attracting less interest. Plans began to consolidate the List A competitions into a single 40-over trophy. The competition began in the 2010 English cricket season with Clydesdale Bank, previously sponsor of the Twenty20 Cup, agreeing to a three-year sponsorship. John Perera, ECB commercial director, stated that "We are delighted to welcome Clydesdale Bank as the title sponsor for the 40-over competition particularly as it gives us an opportunity to build on an already strong working relationship. The Clydesdale Bank 40 is an exciting new competition and the format is designed to comfortably fit into the busy family weekend." Ireland and Scotland, were asked to compete, following their entry in the Friends Provident Trophy, but Ireland declined in order to concentrate on their growing international commitments; The Netherlands took their place. A new team, the Unicorns cricket team, was formed of contractless county players to compete, unpaid, alongside the 18 first-class counties, Scotland and the Netherlands. Warwickshire beat Somerset in the final of the inaugural 2010 tournament. The format for the 2011 competition was kept the same, despite calls for the number of county matches to be reduced; fewer group matches will now be proposed for the 2012 season, with the addition of a quarter-final knock-out round. Unicorns will again compete, holding a fresh set of trials over the winter period. Participating teams and format The competition contains three groups of seven. A random draw is used to place the teams into groups. The top team of each group, together with the second best team across all three groups, progress to two semi-finals, the winners of which face-off in the final for the trophy. The participating teams are the 18 first-class counties plus Scotland, Netherlands and Unicorns. *Derbyshire Falcons *Durham Dynamos *Essex Eagles *Glamorgan *Gloucestershire Gladiators *Hampshire Royals *Kent Spitfires *Lancashire Lightning *Leicestershire Foxes *Middlesex Panthers *Netherlands *Northamptonshire Steelbacks *Nottinghamshire Outlaws *Scottish Saltires *Somerset *Surrey *Sussex Sharks *Unicorns *Warwickshire Bears *Worcestershire Royals *Yorkshire Vikings Results Records Team *'Most runs in an innings:' 399/4, Sussex Sharks v Worcestershire Royals, 14 August 2011. *'Most runs batting second:' 337/7, Kent Spitfires v Sussex Sharks, 19 June 2013 (world record in 40-over game). *'Lowest total in an innings:' 57, Netherlands v Worcestershire, 8 June 2012. Individual *'Most runs in an innings:' 180, Ryan ten Doeschate for Essex Eagles v Scottish Saltires, 2 June 2013. *'Most runs in a tournament:' 861, Jacques Rudolph for Yorkshire Carnegie (2010). *'Best bowling figures:' 7/29, David Payne for Gloucestershire Gladiators v Essex Eagles, 9 May 2010 (including a hat-trick). *'Most wickets in a tournament:' 28, Michael Hogan for Glamorgan (2013). Sponsors *2010–2012 Clydesdale Bank *2013 Yorkshire Bank References Category:English domestic cricket competitions